The Wonderful Health Benefits of Melatonin

Can lying in bed, unable to sleep, lead to cancer? You bet it can! Here's a great video on melatonin's role in cancer prevention:

Not only does melatonin inhibit the proliferation of many different types of cancer cells, it also interferes with the blood supply for new growing tumors. The hormone's benefits don't just stop with hindering cancer; it is also a powerful anti-oxidant that helps to fight inflammation. Also, since melatonin protects white blood cells against radiation damage, they provide a boost for the immune system.

Here's a wide list of the studies done on melatonin: List. I'm going through them to sieve out the interesting ones.

Should You Take Melatonin Supplements? 

Given the wide range of health benefits of melatonin and the diseases it impacts, should you take a melatonin supplement? It is much more beneficial to have your own body produce the melatonin it needs, using the natural hormonal feedback loops to produce just the right amount for you.

However, if for some reason you find yourself unable to naturally increase your melatonin production and lie awake in bed all night, then it would be wise to consider a melatonin supplement. Only a small amount is needed each night - 0.3mg to 0.5 mg.  

Over The Counter Sleep Helpers

Melatonin isn't the only supplement to help us get a good night's sleep. Here's a comparison of some of the more popular sleep helpers you can get at a pharmacy or online.

Melatonin	Valerian Root	Doxylamine
Natural hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle	Herbal remedy used for the past 2000 years	First generation antihistamine.
Helps you fall asleep faster Not as effective when it comes to keeping you asleep for longer Usually taken for 3-5 days	Commonly used to treat anxiety and stress Safe to take over four-six weeks	Short-term sedative Non-addictive Studies in mice have produced positive liver and thyroid cancer results Carcinogenicity in humans not studied
		Not Recommended!

Here's a good forum discussion on Melatonin and Valerian root's benefits towards aiding sleep.

A little Extra Sleeping Help - Melatonin

In my earlier post, I listed my top five habits that help me sleep better at night. But what if you still can't sleep? Then, its time for some melatonin.

What is melatonin? Melatonin is a natural, non-addicting hormone supplement that assists with sleep. In fact, it is naturally produced by the brain and is the hormone that tells the body it is night time and time to sleep.

Millions of people in the United States take it in order to get a good night’s sleep. Melatonin is particularly helpful if you're suffering from jet-lag, take a long time to sleep or above 60. As you age, your body produces less melatonin so you may need to take supplements to help you sleep better.

Take 0.3mg - 1mg about an hour before bedtime and you'll be sleeping like a baby.

If you've taken melatonin before, i'd like to hear from you what your experience on it was!

5 Things You Must Do For Better Sleep

As promised, here are my 5 top tips for a good night's sleep:

1. Cut the Caffeine
A cup of coffee in the morning  is fine for most people but any caffeine after 2p.m. and i find that it interferes with my sleep. This includes the smaller amounts in cola, chocolate and decaf as well

2. Don't drink anything within two hours of bed time
Nothing spoils a good night's sleep like having to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Tip: If you do have to go to the bathroom, a nightlight will affect your sleep hormones less than bright fluorescent light.

3. Dim the lights
Lowering the lights signals the brain to produce melatonin, the hormone that makes us feel sleepy. Its a good habit to dim the lights a few hours before bedtime and also to put aside thoughts about work, complex decisions and arguments. It takes time for the emotional noise to die down and the less of it before bedtime the better.

4.  Turn off light emitting electronic devices
Especially if its blue light. I found that the soft blue glow from my cell phone when i got a message on my phone affected my sleep a lot. Following some research, i found out that the short waves of blue light in particular can affect sleep.

5. Neutralize Noise
A leaky faucet, a barking dog or noisy neighbors in the middle of the night can really affect sleep.
Personally, i use a white noise generator (sound conditioner) to cover the noise. It takes a day or two to get used to it, but once you do, it works wonders.

I hope these tips help you get a better night's sleep. If your insomnia persists for at least a month, please get it checked out by a doctor. The insomnia may be a symptom of an underlying problem such as depression, acid reflux, asthma or arthritis.  

How Much Sleep Do We Really Need?

Well...it depends. According to Daniel Kripke, co-director of research at the Scripps Clinic Sleep Center in La Jolla, California, people who sleep between 6.5 hr. and 7.5 hr. a night, as they report, live the longest.

So what should you do? Simple. Sleep for as long as you need to feel best. Personally, i sleep for six and a half hours on weekdays and seven hours on weekends. This is easier said than done, however. With our busy and hectic lives, we often don't have time to relax before we go to bed, which in turn affects our sleep.

Sleeping pills are one solution, but there are a lot of better options out there. In my next post, i'll list what helps me sleep well at night.

*Yawn* The Importance of Sleep

The first key pillar to healthy living is sleep. More specifically, at least six hours of uninterrupted sleep per night. Why you ask?

The Harvard Women's Health Watch reports that chronic sleep loss "can contribute to health problems such as weight gain, high blood pressure and a decrease in the immune system's power".

The Harvard Women’s Health Watch suggests six reasons to get enough sleep:

1. Learning and memory: Sleep helps the brain commit new information to memory through a process called memory consolidation. In studies, people who’d slept after learning a task did better on tests later.

2. Metabolism and weight: Chronic sleep deprivation may cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates, and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite.

3. Safety: Sleep debt contributes to a greater tendency to fall asleep during the daytime. These lapses may cause falls and mistakes such as medical errors, air traffic mishaps, and road accidents.

4. Mood: Sleep loss may result in irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness. Too little sleep can also leave you too tired to do the things you like to do.

5. Cardiovascular health: Serious sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and irregular heartbeat.

6. Disease: Sleep deprivation alters immune function, including the activity of the body’s killer cells. Keeping up with sleep may also help fight cancer.

It looks like early to bed, early to rise truly makes a man (or woman) healthy, wealthy and wise!